Continuing Stargate

[Shinto-Male]

bump

[Dr. Daedalus]

Good news! My computer will be fixed by Monday at the latest!

Yea. I am looking forward to Monday.

Hallelujah!!!!

Dr. Daedalus

[s09119]

Okay, BETTER news! It came back today and I just booted it up and it's working fine. I'll get on posting "Contagion" ASAP. Thank you to all of you for your patience!

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

YES!!

*punches fists in the air*

[Dr. Daedalus]

Yea. *jumps up and down*.

Dr. Daedalus

[s09119]

15x02 "Contagion"
Synopsis: An alien virus infects the Beta Site, placing the very fate of human resistance in mortal danger. Meanwhile, O'Neill attempts to reunite old allies to the cause.

Spoiler:

After getting a fresh hair cut and shave, Daniel Jackson once again looks like a proper member of the United States Air Force, and walks into the Beta Site 'gate room dressed in garrison clothing, a zat holstered at his side. Several of the nearby soldiers regard him warily, and one of them even glares at the former member of SG-1 as he passes by. Slightly unnerved but not in the least intimidated, Jackson greets Colonel Taylor, who is just about to go meet a research team arriving outside. The British officer asks Daniel how he's doing back from the wilds of unexplored Milky Way planets, and the archaeologist replies that it is, indeed, good to be back with his own people.

Glancing back and pulling Taylor aside, he goes on to ask why he's not being given quite the welcome he expected from the guys down here; the men and women on the Jupiter seemed to be delighted to see him. Shifting somewhat uncomfortably, Taylor explains that many of his own troops feel that SG-1 no longer deserves to be given special treatment or even high position after failing to properly defend Earth... and furthermore, many resent Daniel and Vala for choosing to leave when humanity needed them most. Jackson tries to reason that he was doing what he thought would help in the end, but Taylor just cuts him off; he understands perfectly, and himself bears no ill will toward him. That said, it will take some time to convince everyone that the "SG-1 way" is the right way.

Outside, a twelve-person research team is waiting just in front of the entrance to the Beta Site complex, looking rather bored. They've spent the past month on one of the other continents on the planet, cataloging plant and animal life and determining what they can harvest to ease their dependence on alien powers for food. One of the scientists, a Swedish woman named Felicia Olsson, looks quite fatigued, and her face is flush and dripping with sweat, even though it is clearly a very cold and windy day. One of her fellows comments that her cold set in awful fast, just a few hours ago as the jumper that picked them up departed the eastern continent. She's apparently been complaining of fever, hot flashes, sweating, and a rash that's developed across her chest. The group's leader, Australian-born biologist Dr. Timothy Zahn is worried about Olsson, believing this to be far more than a simple bug, but the Swede insists she is fine as the blast doors open to allow them inside.

Making their way down the maze of hallways to the control room, the expedition group discusses their various findings, including a strange bird-insect hybrid they spotted on their first day on the continent. As they approach the heart of the facility, Major Eaton links up with them, saying that she'll escort them to Colonel Taylor as soon as he is done with his current business. Noticing how uncomfortable Felicia looks, though, she asks if she should call for a medic to check to see things are okay. But the Swede again insists she's fine, this time even shouting and looking somewhat wild-eyed. A moment later, she begins to foam at the mouth, to the horror of those around her, and begins to bleed from her ears and eyes. Then she collapses to the ground, shaking violently. Without hesitation, Eaton stumbles over to the nearest wall and slams her first into a red override button there, sounding a Code Blue alarm.

About an hour later, Felicia has been moved into a quarantined observation room at the Beta Site, and is surrounded by doctors in hazmat suits. Colonel Taylor watches from an observation platform behind reinforced glass, clearly concerned, but is interrupted by the sound of arguing behind him. Turning to face another quarantined room behind him (the booth he's in is double-sided with glass windows), he looks down on the just-returned science team, Major Eaton, and several guards who were exposed to Olsson, all of whom have been sealed off from others in case of a contagious disease of some kind. Inside, Rebbecca is insisting that this is entirely unnecessary, as she feels absolutely fine, as do the others, and they've been exposed to Felicia for months! Dr. Zahn agrees, saying that his subordinate only showed signs of this illness a few hours ago, and given the law of contagions, if they were infected they would be showing the same symptoms by now.

And of course, as if on cue, one of the male scientists looks up from where he was standing in the corner, muttering that he does have a slight fever... and he's been sweating an awful lot in the past hour or so. Slightly concerned now, Maj. Eaton tries to write it off as simple nervousness, but now Taylor isn't so sure. He taps on his radio and asks for another quarantine room to be prepared, then tells the research team that they're everything they can do to make sure they all get out of this okay is being done. But even so, Eaton only looks up at him with pleading eyes as he turns away, knowing that she's trapped here, her fate entirely in his hands.

Meanwhile, in orbit aboard the X-305 Jupiter, Jack O'Neill is sitting on the bed in Samantha Carter's quarters, looking at a picture of their marriage in an alternate universe ("Point of View"). The photograph was left behind at the SGC when the alternate-Sam returned to her own world, and he found it on Carter's desk when he first entered; she's been keeping it all these years, long before their love became what it is today. Stroking the picture with care, Jack sighs and places it back on the table before getting up and leaving the room.

Entering the engine room a short time later, Jack finds Sam and a team of scientists trying to boost the efficiency of the ship's hyperdrive, allowing them to improve the speed with which they can launch the "run" portion of their hit-and-run attacks on the Der'kal. He watches them work for a few moments, smiling at the technobabble until she looks up in his direction and sees him. Quickly excusing herself from the engineers, she comes over and greets her husband warmly. O'Neill comments that she seems more than content with things; she even looked, dare he say, happy working on the engine with the others, and according to those he's talked to since his rescue ("Severed Dreams"), that's rare indeed. Carter's smile dips somewhat at that, admitting that, for a time, she lost herself in things, becoming something she simply never wanted to be. Looking back on it now, she honestly doesn't know how, but somewhere along the way, "Sam Carter" died, and she's just now being brought back to life... slowly and painfully.

In the rather-awkward silence that follows, one of the bridge crew radios Carter, saying that Colonel Taylor is hailing them from the surface. Looking away, Sam says she'll be right there, calls out to the engineers to keep working, then motions at Jack to follow her as she leaves the engine room, heading for the forward sections of the ship. In the background, the team of scientists continue their work, going over possible ways to draw more power from the generator systems to the hyperdrive without overloading the existing conduits.

Arriving at the bridge, Carter nods to her communications officer, who immediately patches her into the transmission from the Beta Site. When Sam asks what's wrong, Taylor (now back in the 'gate room) explains that they have an outbreak of what appears to be a native virus, and it's just taken its first victim; Doctor Felicia Olsson died as a result an extreme seizure that simply wore out her heart ten minutes ago. Two other members of her research team have also come down with extreme fevers, nausea, sweating fits, and migraines, the early symptoms of whatever infected Olsson herself. They have been quarantined in separate observation chambers to better study how this affliction progresses in an attempt to figure out how to stop it, but he admits that they really have no idea what they're dealing with.

Biting her lip, Sam asks how many others have been in proximity to the now-deceased Doctor, to which Taylor replies they have the two dozen or so people from her immediate area (including his second-in-command Rebbecca Eaton) in quarantine right now, but depending on how fast this thing spreads, it may have infected half the base just by Olsson walking in the front door. Though he knows it's a drastic step, he recommends sealing off the mountain and warning the refugees below to stay away and defer to troops already in the settlement for explanations and help. Nodding in agreement, Carter gives the go-ahead order, and asks Taylor to keep her posted on the situation as she cuts the link.

Down below, Daniel is twiddling his thumbs in the infirmary of the Beta Site, now stuck inside the complex since he was present when the research team returned. As he looks around in boredom, one of the doctors comes over, a clipboard covering her face as she flips through the papers on it detailing Jackson's blood-work. At length, she lowers it, revealing the tired face of Dr. Caroline Lam, who evidently was one of the lucky ISGC personnel to escape the base before its destruction by the Der'kal a year earlier. She says that, thankfully, Daniel's blood is clean of any foreign contaminants, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything; they hardly detected the bacterium/virus in Felicia Olsson during her autopsy, and the blood of the other infected appears clean even with the onset of symptoms. They're dealing with the very definition of an alien contagion here.

Jumping off his bed, Jackson asks if he can leave the infirmary now, and Lam says that unless he's noticing any symptoms... yes, he's free to leave. Daniel laughs despite the situation, saying that he's positive he feels fine, then thanks Caroline and heads into the hallway just in time to hear one of the base officers announce a list of symptoms over the intercom system, reiterating that this illness seems to be very contagious, and that if anyone experiences anything to report to the medbay at once. Grabbing a passing airman, Daniel asks where Colonel Taylor is, and upon hearing that the CO was last seen near the armory, he heads off in that direction.

Outside, in the cold and bitter wind, the refugee settlement carries on despite the unfolding situation in the Beta Site complex; thousands of men and women attempt to live a semblance of normal life amidst the complete breakdown of civil authority and reversion to military rule. Children play half-heartedly in the makeshift streets between prefabricated houses, using tattered remnants of toys from Earth. The people look depressed, but not quite disheartened, and evidence of some stubborn resistance remains; the words "Free Earth" have been etched into many of the houses' sides.

(First part of "Contagion," see next two posts for more.)

[s09119]

(Second part of "Contagion," see previous post for start and next post for end.)

Spoiler:

A few miles from the foot of the mountain, in the heart of the settlement, an Asgard beam transmission deposits Jack O'Neill (coming down from orbit) in the middle of a food-and-water distribution site, startling several nearby workers. The ex-General smiles awkwardly, then asks if anyone knows how he can find out where certain refugees are currently living. He tried asking around the Jupiter, but Sam told him that they were never able to compile a real database of personnel residencies on the surface, mainly because the military was too busy tearing itself apart over who should lead and what they should do. And as the people down there quickly inform him, there's no centralized information center within the camp, either. If he wants to get in touch with someone, he'll have to do it the old-fashioned way... walking around and looking. Sighing, Jack picks a random direction and heads deeper into the camp.

In the quarantine room, Major Eaton is having her blood drawn by a young medic, and she doesn't look happy about this situation in the least. The room is now empty expect for her and two scared-seeming members of the research team, indicating that the others have all displayed signs of the illness and have been moved to deeper isolation. After the drawing is done, there's a knock at the chamber door, and Eaton looks up to see Dr. Lam waving for the medic to come talk to her. When the medic seems to be lagging, Lam sighs and finishes pulling on a hazmat suit, then comes into the room itself and pulls the man over to speak privately. Despite her attempt at secrecy, though, Eaton is able to make out enough to discern the situation; half the base has fallen ill with this thing, and they've run out of room to put everyone without getting them near others. So far there haven't been anymore deaths, but she's expecting the worst anytime now. Then, as if realizing that someone overheard, Lam looks up quickly, glances knowingly at the "imprisoned" Major, and leaves, heading back to the infirmary. Growing worried, Eaton watches her as she leaves, noticeably beginning to perspire as her face flushes...

A few minutes later, Lam enters the 'gate room in time to see an airman being taken out on a stretcher, foaming at the mouth just as Dr. Olsson did right before her collapse; evidently, some people are trying to hide their symptoms for as long as possible. She walks up to Colonel Taylor, who is trying to keep his panicked men from losing it, and asks if she can have a word with him. Once the two of them are out of earshot of others, Lam outlines her concerns that this illness is on the verge of overtaking her staff's ability to treat everyone equally, and a lot of their earliest cases are slipping into the foaming-at-the-mouth stage, which for Olsson, set in just five or six hours prior to death. She needs more resources, and she needs them fast.

While Lam talks on in narration, explaining how bad things could get, the picture changes to one of Jack walking through the settlement outside, trying to find someone. As he rounds a corner onto another row of prefab houses, he comes across a young man leaning against a building a coughing. Nearby, a monitor set up by the soldiers lists the symptoms of the illness and asks anyone who may be infected to head for the medical encampment closer to the Beta Site immediately. Everyone looks frightened, obviously aware of how fast this illness of spreading and how quickly it can come on, and the coughing man suddenly stumbles into O'Neill's way. Jack catches him before he falls, asking if he's alright, but when the man looks up it's clear that he's not okay at all... his face is red from fever, his lips are dry, and sweat is pouring down on his cheeks and chest. Realizing that the man is ill, Jack jumps away, along with everyone else nearby, hoping that they haven't contracted the virus. A group of soldiers rush up in horror, radioing for a medic at once and ordering all the civilians to get back. But no one seems to be listening anymore, as the terrifying truth becomes evident; the illness has breached containment.

A half hour later, on the Jupiter, Carter stares blankly at a display of the spread of infection on the planet. Several bridge crewmembers are glancing at her, whispering amongst themselves as they do; protocol dictates that the entire surface has to be quarantined now, and if necessary... bombarded to wipe out any trace of the virus. But that would involve killing Jack O'Neill, who can't be extracted now that he's been exposed, and no one is sure if Sam has the strength to murder the man she so loves. Sighing, Carter taps her headset radio and asks the person on the other end what her options are.

Down below in the Beta Site, an obviously-distressed Colonel Taylor replies that he has no idea. Seventy percent of his personnel are doubled over with this disease, and they just had their second and third fatalities; two other members of the research team went into seizures that shook them so violently they fell off of their beds and slammed their heads into the concrete floor, shattering their skulls instantly. Dr. Lam has made sure that padding is placed near all elevated patients since that happened, but all they can seem to do is prolong life a few hours, not actually save it for good. As he passes by a research lab, two medics rush out with an older man in hand who has just shown symptoms of the illness, yet more evidence of the dire situation. If they can't do something soon, it won't matter... people will be dying by the hundreds.

Outside, Jack is arguing with one of the Beta Site soldiers in the refugee settlement who tries to detain him. O'Neill shouts that since everyone out here is probably already infected, there's no point in restricting his movements. He needs to find someone, and he plans to do just that. After a moment of tense standoff, the soldier relents and tells him he can go, but asks Jack to come back immediately if he starts to develop any symptoms. Nodding and promising that he will, O'Neill heads off into the camp, a group of civilians beyond parting to make way for one of their most-beloved heroes.

A short time later, Jack has made his way to the outskirts of the settlement, on the other side of the cluster of buildings from the mountain where the Beta Site is housed. Not many people make their living out here, but a small prefab house sits on a rise away from all the others, whether by incident or design being unknown. Stopping for a moment to close his eyes and take a deep breath, Jack then heads up the hill and knocks on the door, shivering slightly in the chill air. Inside the small hut, commotion is heard, and a moment later, the door opens to reveal a tired-looking woman in faded clothes, her hair disheveled but her eyes bright and intelligent nonetheless; this is the former commander of the ISGC, Danielle Talbot. She stares out at Jack for a long time, her mouth open yet not seeming to have anything to say. After realizing how idiotic she must look, she pulls her hair back in an attempt to neaten it and invites O'Neill inside, asking how he managed to get off Earth... apparently, she's been out of the loop for some time now.

They sit down on a small couch inside the hut, which is almost-identical to ll others in the refugee camp; four metal walls just thick enough to keep out the cold, a heater/air conditioner system, a small bathroom, and a cramped but functional kitchen that splices into a living room/bedroom. Somehow, though, Danielle has manage to make hers look homely, with a few treasured keepsakes from her office on Earth clustered on shelves and worksurfaces. Jack, glancing around the tiny space, asks Talbot why she hasn't been seen in nearly five months now, and the disgraced diplomat sighs sadly. She explains that when they first set up this settlement, she was doing everything she could to give people hope, to make them believe that they would retake Earth and win the war. But as people became more and more disillusioned, they stopped trusting Talbot and her ideals of taking the fight to the enemy in any way they could (this was, of course, before Samantha Carter began her guerrilla warfare via the Jupiter). A few months into basic operations, several high-ranking political figures from various nations banded together and ousted her from authority, taking over the day-to-day operations of civilian government. But without Talbot's deft tough, the organization quickly came undone, leaving no one to guide the survivors save the military, and martial law set in... creating the current status quo.

Since then, she's just stayed to herself. She glumly admits that she's been wallowing in self-pity, too ashamed of her failure to walk in the camp itself. She hasn't turned on the military-supplied radio she was given in months, explaining her lack of knowledge on what's going on. Feeling for his friend, Jack touches her hand and smiles sadly, saying that a lot has changed... and that things will get better. In fact, he set out to locate her in order to ask Danielle to join the new government that he, Sam, Colonel Taylor, and Daniel are trying to set up, a cross-nationality system that will act as the officially governing body of humanity in the interim between now and the time they take back Earth. They need someone who can be here at all times, to act as the civilian face of the new organization, and they all agreed unanimously that they wouldn't rather have anyone but Dr. Talbot at the forefront of things.

Before she can respond to his offer, though, startled cries are heard from outside. Glancing at one another, Jack and Danielle rush to the doorway and get outside in time to witness a riot erupting deeper into the settlement. Civilians are clashing with the military as more and more people fall ill, and a horrified O'Neill explains to Talbot that Sam won't have any choice soon but to bombard the surface to eradicate this virus so the people in orbit can come down and keep living. But as she stares out at the chaos, Danielle frowns, muttering that this isn't right. Suddenly, her eyes widen, and she tells Jack that they need to get in contact with the people in charge of things now, before Carter gives the order to fire. She knows what's wrong, and better yet, she knows how to stop it.

Shortly after, the two of them have been escorted through the riots to the Beta Site, which is being unsealed given the contamination of the settlement. Jack orders a nearby soldier to bring them to Colonel Taylor immediately, and to have a video link set up with the Jupiter immediately.

When they finally meet with Taylor, they find him in the observation room of a quarantine chamber, where Major Eaton is strapped to a table, looking on the verge of death; she's exhibiting all the symptoms of the illness, and, if their timetable is right, should be nearing the final stages. The young woman is sobbing through the pain, crying out for a friend, a parent, a God, anyone at all, but ultimately, Taylor is all she gets. When Jack is finally able to pry the Colonel's gaze off of his tortured second-in-command, he says that Dr. Talbot here knows what's happening and how to cure this insanity before they're forced to turn to the terrible, last-ditch solution. But Taylor doesn't see how; Dr. Lam has finally admitted defeat, not having any idea how to fight this disease and knowing it is simply going to beat them. How can a simply diplomat have the answers?

[s09119]

(End of "Contagion," see previous two posts for start.)

Spoiler:

But as Talobt points out, she also minored in psychology, and knows a thing or two about how people think. Dr. Felicia Olsson did indeed have a terrible illness, but that's it, the infection ends there. The widespread contamination doesn't exist; mass hysteria is the answer. The extreme fear of a deadly contagion getting out in such an important settlement, combined with the massive stress and panic people are always under created an imaginary plague. In simple terms, people have made up this whole thing in their heads.

When Taylor, shocked, points to the two additional deaths as proof that she's wrong, Talbot just explains that they knew seizure was part of the final stages (which doctors told them they were in), so their seized. It was the fall to the floor and whacking their heads that killed them, not the "virus." If they hadn't been plastering the symptoms and the warnings of how "dangerous and contagious" this illness was, she can guarantee it wouldn't have gotten this bad. All they need to do to "cure" it is tell people the truth. Knowing they don't have much time, Taylor nods and gives the order to his men to spread the word, then rushes downstairs and into the room where Eaton lies, unstrapping her and telling her it's going to be okay.

Turning to the video monitor where an astonished Carter has been listening to ti all, Jack tells his wife that it looks like things are going to be okay. Sam just nods breathlessly, eternally grateful to Danielle for saving them from what could have been their truly darkest hour. Smiling for the first time in months, Talbot tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and says it was her pleasure... after all, it's good to be back.

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

I doubt the legitimacy of that psychoanalysis, but I'll let it pass because the epsiode was so good.

And "Timothy Zahn?" Ho, I like that. Funny.

And why, someone tell me, why do I keep seeing Roslin when I try and picture Talbot in that episode?

[Dr. Daedalus]

I loved Contagion, especially the ending.

Dr. Daedalus

[s09119]

I doubt the legitimacy of that psychoanalysis, but I'll let it pass because the epsiode was so good.

And "Timothy Zahn?" Ho, I like that. Funny.

And why, someone tell me, why do I keep seeing Roslin when I try and picture Talbot in that episode?

Haha, I'm taking psychology and we just covered mass hysteria. Blame Ms. Lozzi...

And I thought you'd like the Zahn reference, I love weaving sci-fi tidbits into my writing as much as possible. It's like paying these great writers back for their genius.

As for Roslin... I don't know. I don't really watch BSG anymore, so I honestly couldn't tell you.

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

I guess it must be because they're both disoriented after the loss of Earth.

[s09119]

I guess it must be because they're both disoriented after the loss of Earth.

The idealistic leader who collapses after the devastating realization that all they dreamed of is lost... yeah, I can see it now. But unlike Roslin, Talbot didn't abandon her job, she didn't cause the chaos that surrounds her. She was forced out of her position, and that's what caused her to sink into such a deep depression.

[s09119]

Some attempt to complete "Acts of Contrition"

It was the terrible betrayal of humanity by the People's Republic of China that ultimately doomed Earth to conquest by the enemy. It was the greed of the Chinese leadership that forced billions to languish under the oppression of an alien menace, and forced thousands to flee to a world far, far from home. As payback for this awful crime, their fleet was devastated and their nation put under blockade. But righteousness alone could not save the people of the Tau'ri that day, and their world fell nonetheless.

Out of all those who worked under the Chinese regime, though, no one was as hurt by the actions of their government as Shen Xiaoyi, the loyal and ever-nationalistic ambassador who served the PRC faithfully for all her life. She was recalled to her homeland mere hours before the eventually attack on the planet, and her fate has remained clouded in mystery ever since. Now, though, she and a group of like-minded Chinese will return... aboard a Chinese ship. How did they survive? How did they escape Earth? And, perhaps most importantly...

What do they want?

"Acts of Contrition" will guest star Tamlyn Tomita as Shen Xiaoyi.

[Crazy Tom]

More House inspiration, kind of anti-climatic through.